Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Expects Chip Sales To Double Next Year

ASML Holding N.V. plans to work with major customers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, Nvidia, Intel, Samsung, and SK Hynix to adapt its next-generation High NA extreme ultraviolet lithography tools so they can print larger data-center chips, addressing a current limitation where the newer machines use a smaller mask than ASML's widely deployed standard EUV tools. ASML targets a pilot production line using the larger masks by 2031 and high-volume manufacturing readiness by 2033, with Chief technology officer Marco Pieters saying the changes could lift system productivity by roughly 40%. TSMC plans to introduce High NA EUV into advanced-node high-volume production from 2030, giving ASML greater visibility into future equipment demand. The larger-mask transition carries execution risks, as ASML must develop and qualify larger masks while TSMC must integrate the technology into high-volume manufacturing, and the benefits remain several years away from contributing to either company's financial results. Hedge fund ownership of ASML grew to 140 funds in the second quarter from 133 in the first, with combined position value rising to $21.77 billion from $16.38 billion, while TSMC's hedge fund ownership grew to 249 funds from 234.

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang said the company will double the number of chips it sells next year compared with this year, speaking to press at a summit in Scotland. Huang tied the plan to broad demand for artificial intelligence, saying AI contributes so much to different industries and economies that people in almost every country Nvidia operates in want to invest in AI. The comment follows Nvidia's first-ever full-year forecast, issued in its recent earnings report, which predicted a 70% year-over-year gain in revenue in the next fiscal year. In the latest quarter, Nvidia revenue climbed more than 100% to about $96 billion, while profit surged in the triple digits to $59 billion, and the stock has advanced about 900% over the past five years. Investors have questioned whether the massive capital spending by tech companies on AI infrastructure will pay off, a worry that has weighed on Nvidia shares at times, including a decline in the first quarter of this year.

Elon Musk said in a September 13 post on X that he is highly confident Space Exploration Technologies Corp. will transport NVIDIA Corporation Vera Rubin NVL72 AI computers into orbit next year, reinforcing SpaceX's Starmind plan to build AI data centers in space. The first satellite, Starmind AI1, will carry a space-optimized version of NVIDIA's Vera Rubin NVL72 rack-scale system, with SpaceX targeting a fourth-quarter 2027 launch and substantial scale by 2028. Musk has argued that orbital solar power could make space the lowest-cost location for AI computing within two to three years, though Microsoft President Brad Smith has publicly questioned whether computation will actually move from the ground to low-Earth orbit. The plan depends on SpaceX's Starship rocket proving its launch frequency and reliability, and when Musk said in SpaceX's August earnings call that the company would build its future AI infrastructure exclusively on NVIDIA, NVDA shares rose more than 4% while SpaceX shares fell more than 10% before paring losses. According to some analyst models, SpaceX accounts for approximately 5% of NVIDIA's revenue, and hedge fund holdings in NVIDIA rose from 275 in the first quarter to 285 in the second, while 119 funds held stakes in SpaceX as of the second quarter.